I dedicated a little bit ago to start writing more about my big kids. I explained then, it's not that I don't WANT to write about them or that I don't think about them, but they feel like this real and sacred part of my life that is worth much more than the little words I can write about them. But still, it's worth a shot right?Today is my Gloriana's fifth birthday.Gloriana Eloise Connolly. If you think her name is elaborate and beautiful, you can't begin to imagine her personality and all it entails. Glory. Our glory girl. For the past few weeks, Nick has been bringing up her birthday and fake crying about it to make her laugh. The truth is, when her dad and I get real quiet, we could work up a few genuine tears about how grateful we are for her, how surprised we are by God's grace and goodness in her life, and just how terribly happy we are to be her parents. If you don't know a lot about Glory's medical history, you can read here, here, and here to find out why we tend to be very tender when it comes to our gal. We even still sleep with our bed arranged in a way that if both our doors are open, we can see her at anytime of the night - not to mention that she's a five year old who must be listened too all night with a baby monitor. I pray that as diligently as we watch over her health, we'd watch over her heart. I often feel super unequipped for that task, but I praise God that He entrusted her to us. Now, on to some sweet things you should know about our Glory-ory.

1. She's a Cannon lover, through and through. We were super nervous after she had such a bad reaction to finding out we were having a boy. She didn't even seem super excited about the baby. But now that he's here - oh goodness, she's smitten. The other night we were putting her to bed and we let her cuddle with him in her bed for a bit. Nick and I caught her saying, "Mommy's here.... Mommy's here.... Mommy's here.....". She was talking about herself. 2. She is creepily smart. She doesn't have a super long attention span and traditional learning is so not her thing right now, but she is an osmosis-audio-learner like you wouldn't believe. We'll leave a store where a secular-radio song is being played and five minutes later realize she is singing it, word-for-word after only hearing it once. She's also super soul smart too. She understands heavy concepts and perceives when people are hurting, sometimes to the point where it makes her super uncomfortable. 3. Her bottom lip. She bites it in passion, joy, anger, and well - passion. It will make you die laughing or run for your life. You'll see it just before she pummels you with hugs and kisses, just before she makes the funniest jokes ever, and just before she punches you in the face. True story.

4. She says the darnedest things. Super embarrassing things like when she filled her playdate friends in on my private anatomy and things she's witnessed when she catches me in the bathroom. (true story) Or when she gets mad and runs to her room and screams "I AM SO MAD AND YOU ARE SILLY." (true story) Or when she got jealous of another little girl for the first time and weepily declared, "Where she exists, there can be no glory." (true story) She loves to grab her little notebook and pretend write all around our house. I pray the Lord uses those precious words. I'd love to see her be a writer. Or whatever He wants.

5. She makes our family just perfect. Our fiery little princess. So grateful for you, G.